Wellington Bridge closure point of frustration for High Street businesses

City councillors are calling for change and local businesses are concerned after the closure of Wellington Bridge cuts off another route to downtown Edmonton.

The closure of Wellington Bridge in west-central Edmonton is already seeing apprehension from business owners in the area.

The stretch of 102 Avenue between 130 Street and 132 Street officially closed on Monday to replace the 93-year-old bridge.

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Construction, which has been expected to run until the end of October 2026, shut down the portion of 102 Avenue to vehicles, transit, pedestrians and cyclists.

The trail underneath the bridge was also closed.

Kathy Springer, whose daughter owns kitchenware store Heart of the Home on 124 Street, said the closures have already begun affecting stores in the High Street area.

“It’s going to be way quieter, and Christmas season is coming, and Christmas is the bread and butter,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s your make or break time.”

Springer added the nearby lane closures on 104 Avenue between 105 and 121 Street for the Valley Line West LRT project worsens the issue.

The city said the changes to 104 Avenue are expected to continue until the end of November.

“They just shouldn’t have closed it yet,” Springer said of 102 Avenue. “Wait until 104th was finished, right?”

But the city said the bridge’s repairs can’t wait. They previously said the bridge had been on “life support” since 2014.

Despite the necessity of the replacement, city councillors Andrew Knack and Tim Cartmell say they’re hearing more complaints.

“We still don’t really have a solution for how people are going to move around in this city until we get some bridge capacity back,” Cartmell told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

One of his fixes would include moving cones in construction zones throughout the day so more drivers can get through.

Knack said he wanted to see expedited construction, which is already being used on the west end LRT construction.

This would include a 20-24 hour construction cycle as a model that would cut downtime on projects.

In the meantime, businesses like Home of the Heart will brace themselves for less foot traffic through the area and make decisions from there.

“They want to revitalize downtown … Doesn’t really happen if you can’t get there,” Springer said.

“If we don’t do well … we probably won’t be here next year.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg